Partitioned shipping container



2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR J21) H /V/7E y 7, 1957 J. H NUTE PARTITIONED SHIPPING CONTAINER Filed May 14, 1953 mg a assembling the partitions.

PARTITIONED SHIPPING CONTAINER Jay H. Nute, San Leandro, Calif., assignor to The Patent and Licensing Corporation, New York, N. Y., a corporation of Massachusetts Application May 14, 1953, Serial No. 355,070

2 Claims. .(Cl. 229-15) The present invention relates topartitioned containers or cartons andparticularly to shipping containers for transporting fragile articles such as Mason jars, bottled goods, cans, or other fragile items packed in cells, or separated forprotection from damage.

In the manufacture of shipping containers or cartons adapted to carry a plurality of fragile articles, one of the problems in setting up the box is the labor involved in Usually the partitions are made up of a plurality of pieces of board, as for example, five pieces in the case of a partition for a shipping container for a dozen articles. These partition members are slotted and fitted together. The assembly of the plurality of pieces is time consuming, and therefore expensive.

Another problem is that Mason jars, for example, are shipped to a large extent in fibre containers which are adapted to contain a dozen Mason jars. Frequently a customer in a grocery store may wish to purchase a half dozen jars, and in that case it was necessary to remove half of the jars from the container or to ship the jars in a container-having two half dozen cartons enclosed within a larger container.

Bottled beer has been similarly handled. It has been proposed previously to score cartons for transporting beer bottles so that the cartons can be readily cut in two, so that a half dozen bottles of beer can be more readily sold to customers. The half carton obtained by tearing the carton on the score lines provided a container somewhat awkward to handle and having no protection against bottles coming out of the open side.

A primary object of the present invention is to provide an improved container for a plurality of fragile articles containing a one-piece partition member.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide an improved container for a plurality of fragile articles wherein portions of the cover flaps interlock with a one-piece partition member to form cells, the flap portions forming part of the cell walls.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide an improved container for a plurality of fragile articles having a one-piece partition member, said carton and said partition member being adapted to be easily divided in half along pre-scored lines.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide an improved container for a plurality of fragile articles having a one-piece partition member, said carton and said partition member being adapted to be easily divided in half along pro-scored lines, so constructed that the partition member will not be pulled from the half container when used as a carrying handle.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the description of the invention. These and other objects are attained by the present invention which will be best understood by reference to the drawings, but it will be understood that variations and substitutions may be made within the scope of the claims.

United States Patent In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view partly in section of a container in accordance with one embodiment of this invention;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the container of Fig. l in closed position;

Fig. 3 is a top sectional view of the container of Figs. 1 and 2 taken on the lines 3-3 of Fig. 2, and illustrating a plurality of Mason jars within the container;

Fig. 4 shows the closed carton of Fig. 2, wherein the perforations have been partly cut to separate the container into halves;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a half of thecontainer;

Fig. 6 is a sectional side view of the container taken on the lines '6-6 of Fig. 2;

Fig. '7 is a sectional view taken on the lines 7-7 of Fig. 6;

Fig. 8-is a plan view of the box blank; and,

Fig. 9 is a plan view of the central partition blank.

With reference to the drawings, it will be seen that the container comprises bottom flaps 11-11, side panels 12-12, and top flaps 13-13. The bottom flaps 11-11 and the top flaps 13-13 are each half of the width of the box so that when the box is closed, they cover the entire bottom and top of the box. These flaps and panels preferably contain a perforation line 14 by which the box may eventually be divided into two parts. End panels 15-15 have attached thereto and separated therefrom by fold lines top and bottom flaps 16-16 and 17-17, having at the ends thereof divider portions 18-18 and 19-19, which are adapted to be folded at a angle to the said flaps to interlock with the partition member and form partitions. The one-piece partition member comprises two end panels 20 and 21 joined by a folding line 22 which is preferably perforated for use in dividing the assembled container. Hinged to the end panels 20 and 21 are four substantially identical partition members 23, each of which contains two slots 24 into which liner partition members 18 and 19 are adapted to be inserted. Each partition end member 20 and 21 preferably contains a hand holding device 26.

In assembling the shipping container, it is folded in a manner similar to the usual slotted carton and stitched or sealed at one corner as illustrated at Fig. 2. The partition sections 18 and 19 of the liner members are folded at a 90 angle from the partition sections, the partition is folded once at along perforated line 22 and then opened in the position shown in Fig. l where it is inserted into the center of the box, the slots 24 engaging partition members 18.

The container is now ready to receive the articles to be shipped and as illustrated, there are thus formed 12 cubicles. The top is closed by folding in ends 16-16 and tricking flaps 18-18 into slots 24-24 then closing flaps 13-13 and sealing the box.

If it is desired to divide the container in half and use it as a carry-home container for a half dozen articles, it is merely cut or broken along the perforated lines shown in Fig. 5 in the manner shown in Fig. 4, the hand holding device 26 folded upwardly and the container carried thereby as shown in Fig. 5. The top and bottom partition members 18 prevent the central partition member from being pulled out of the container, and the articles cannot accidentally come out of the container.

The container described may be constructed of fiberboard, corrugated board or the like material, or may be a carton formed from paper board.

The one-piece partition member may be varied in shape as well as the partition sections of the liner. For example, the latter may have slots to conform to slots 24 of the partition member so that the liner partition may come half way up the height of the box or more to form complete partitions.

The principal advantage of the container is the easy assembly of the one-piece partition member.

I claim:

1. A container comprising side and end walls and eight flaps forming the top and bottom of the box, portions of the inner flaps being adapted to fold inwardly from both top and bottom so as to substantially form two partition members dividing the container into three areas and an additional single folded one-piece slotted partition memher having slots adapted to interlock at right angles with said folded flap members, said partition member having a double thickness portion lying between and parallel to said two partitions, a line of perforations completely 7 around the container at the middle thereof in the plane of said double thickness portion of the partition member, and a corresponding line of perforations in said partition member at the fold line between the halves of said double top and bottom so as to form two partition members dividing the container into three sections, and an additional folded one-piece slotted partition member having a double thickness center portion lying parallel to and between said partition members and four flaps folded at right angles from said center portion and having slots adapted to interlock at right angles with said inner end flap members thus dividing the container into twelve cells, a line of perforations completely around the container at the middle in the plane of said double thickness center portion of the partition member and a corresponding line of perforations in said partition member at the fold line between the halves of its double thickness center portion so that the container may be divided into two substantially identical portions with half of said partition center member in each portion, carrying means in each half of partition center member, each half of said single additional partition member being held in .its respective half of said container by means of the said inwardly folded inner end fiap.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,637,299 Graham July 26, 1927 1,928,660 Boeye Oct. 3, 1933 1,990,975 Benoit Feb. 12, 1935 2,450,941 Crane Oct. 12, 1948 2,474,751. Morand June 28, 1949 2,582,655 Schenk Jan. 15, 1952 2,630,264 Holy Mar. 3, 1953 2,698,708 Margolies Jan. 4, 1955 

